Combined towel rack and clothesline



March 8 1927.

O. R. 'BETTS COMBINED TOWEL RACK AND CLOTHESLINE Filed May 25, 1926 Orr:(is R Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES ORVILLE R. .BETDS, OF SAN IPEDRO, CALIFORNIA.

COMBINED TOWEL BACK AND CLOTHESLINE.

Application filed May 25,

My invention is a. combined towel rack and clothes line.

An object of my invention is to form a towel rack structure which may beutilized to house a clothes line of the extensible type, whereby theclothes line may be unreeled through the towel rack and stretched alonga wall or the like for hanging clothes.

Another object of my invention is to form the towel rack of tubing sothat a clothes line may be reeled on the drum. the line extendingthrough the tubing with the free end ofthe line retained at the extremeend of the tubing, such line being extensible and fastened to a hook orthe like forming a clothes line.

Another object of my invention is to form the housing for the reels witha device fornr ing a brake so that when a line is drawn out the brakingdevice may be applied, thereby preventing the spring from winding in theline.

My invention will be more readily understood from the followingdescription and drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my towel rack and extensible clothesline. attached to a wall, with one of the lines drawn out;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 through thetowel rack and reeling device;

Fig. 3 is an elevation partly broken away, showing the reeling drum;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section illustrating a section through the springof one of the reels;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3, through the reels andtheir housing;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3, showing a suitablesupporting bracket.

The towel rack structure is constructed substantially as follows:

Suitable brackets 1 are utilized to support the tubes 2, the bracketsbeing attached to the wall 3. These tubes merge into or are attached toa reel housing 4 for the clothes line. This housing at the backpreferably abuts against the wall and if desired may be secured thereto.However. the brackets are intended to be sufficiently strong to sup portthe whole device.

It will be noted that the tubes are preferably parallel sided andadjoining the housing they are in alinement as indicated in Fig. 2,being large enough to accommodate the line as it is reeled in and out ashere- 1926. Serial No. 111,672.

under described. In elevation the tubes preferably have parallel sidesas indicated by the numeral 7 in Fig. 3. Ornamental knobs 8 withapertures 9 thereon form the ends of the towel rack, it being understoodthat towels may be hung over the tubes as indicated in Fig. 1.

The mounting for the reels is substantially as follows: e

As illustrated, the housing a has a rear, preferably circular section 10which clears the wall. The side walls 11 are preferably cylindrical,being open at the front :and having a movable closure plate 12. A roundshaft 13 secured in the housing, being preferably riveted or secured inany other suitable manner to the rear wall so :as to be immovable andnon-rotatable. VVindi-ng reels 15, of which there are two, are looselymounted on the shaft; each of these reels having a drum section 16 andan actuating spring 17. This spring is suitably secured to the shaft andto the drum.

It will be noted by reference to Figs. 3 and 4- that the springs of theinner and outer drums are reversed so that each has a tendency to windin opposite directions. The free end of the shaft 13 is screw threadedas indicated by 18, having a nut 19 thereon with an operating handle 20.

The clothes line 21 is wound on the drums, there being two clothes lineswith their ends secured in any suitable manner to the drums. The linesextend through the tubes 2 and are drawn out of apertures 9 prefrablyhaving rings 22 on the end which prevent there being drawn backwardlyinto the tubes. Hooks 23 or the like, may be secured to a wall so thatwhen the lines are drawn out they may be hooked as shown in Fig. 1 andutilized for hanging clothes or the like.

The manner of operation of my combined towel rack and clothes line isbelieved obvious. However, it may be stated that the tension of thesprings will preferably be sufficient so that the lines will be drawn inand maintained taut. Should a person for any reason wish to draw out aline and to relieve the constant inward tension, it is only necessary toturn the handle and screw the nut 19 tightly on the shaft 13. Thisaction presses the plate 12 against the reels, thus pressing theinnermost reel against the back of the housing. This action createssufiiclent friction to prevent reeling in or turning out of the line.Thus a person may ob tain a slack line should such be desired.

Such changes may be made as fall Within the spirit of my invention asset fort-h in the description, drawings and claims.

Having described my invention, What I claim is:

1. A combined towel rack and clothes line comprising a housing having areel therein, a tube connected to the reel housing and havingcommunication therewith, a clothes line extending through the tube andWound upon the reel, and means to support the housing and the tube on awall or the like.

2. A. combined towel rack and clothes line comprising in combination ahousing, a tube connected thereto, a fixed shaft in the housing, a reelon said shaft, a line extending through the tube and Wound on the reel,a loose plate in the housing'adjacent the reel, and means operativelyconnected to the shaft to press said plate against the reel, creating afriction whereby the line may be held unreeled in any desired position.

3. In a device of the character described, a pair of tubes having anenlarged housing between the same, a pair of reels mounted in saidhousing, lines extending through the tubes and Wound on the reels, andmeans to support the tubes spaced from a Wall or the like, said tubesforming a towel rack on each side of the housing.

4. In a device of the character described, a central housing h ving aplurality of reels, each reel having a drum and a spring, the springsbeing tensioned to rotate the drums in opposite directions, tubesconnected to the housing and extendingin opposite directions, linesthrough the tubes attached to the drums, means to support the tubes on awall or the like, and spaced therefrom, said tubes forming a towel rackon each side of the housing, the housing having a shaft, the reels beingrota-table on said shaft, a loose plate on the shaft, a nut threaded onthe shaft bearing against the plate, and means to operate the nut tofrictionally press the reels together and against the back of thehousing, thereby preventing rotation of same. i

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ORVILLE R. BETTS.

